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org Y

Vote Yes for decent

pay and to defend FE
O

n 24 November hundreds
of thousands of nurses,
radiographers, and other hospital
workers struck for decent pay. Millions
of other workers are in the same
situation year on year pay cuts while
those at the top get ever greater pay
rises and bonuses.
Our principals have seen doubledigit pay rises during the last decade.
Yet weve lost on average of around 16%
since 2008.
We will have had seven years of pay
cuts at the hands of the AoC if we dont
fight in the current pay round. Enough
is enough.
Its important that we stand up to
the AoC on pay. If they get away with
another pay cut they will feel more
confident about pushing through more
redundancies, heavier workloads and
worse conditions locally.

National

Thats why we should not support any

ditching of national action on pay or
any playing off of national bargaining
with local branch level negotiations.
Members may find the briefing A
National FE Strategy to Win Real
National Bargaining useful for the
remaining branch briefings on national
bargaining.
It can be found on the UCU Left
website: www.uculeft.org
Pay is perhaps the only issue over
which we can declare a national dispute
and take action.
Such action can involve and unite
all members nationally and raise the
confidence needed to challenge local

managements over job losses, imposed

observation policies and attacks on
Equality and conditions of service.
The pay strategy being proposed
is not about one day strikes. The
Further Education Committee on 17
October endorsed a comprehensive pay
campaign strategy which youre now
being asked to vote for. It is in three
parts:
1. For a one day national strike to kick
off the campaign with a lobby of the
AoC.
2. To develop targeted strike action to
involve at least two colleges in each
region (focused on the highest paid
principals), and supported by twinning
arrangements, days of action, and
collections in other branches in the
regions.
3. Then a mass lobby of parliament to
press the case for proper FE funding,
with another strike day to facilitate a
mass turnout.
The FEC also unanimously adopted a
new Charter for FE putting the case
for our sector.
We can use this in promoting FE
within our communities and to lobby
MPs and parliamentary candidates
in the coming general election period
as part of our political defence of the
sector.
In a damaging and undemocratic
move, supporters of the Independent
Broad Left group on the FEC,
including the chair and one of

the vice-chairs of the FEC, have

requisitioned a Special Further
Education Sector Conference for
Saturday 13 December.
They will put an ill-conceived
motion, in the middle of the ballot,
which effectively proposes calling off
the dispute. This can only bring comfort
to the AoC.
This is despite the fact that these IBL
supporters endorsed the declaration
of a dispute, a new ballot, the
recommendation of a Yes vote, and the
elements of the strategy outlined above
as recently as the last FEC meeting on
17 October!
The chair and vice-chair should be
censured for their behaviour.

Reject

We urge branches and delegates to

the special FESC to reject moves to
undermine the dispute we have just
declared and to reject attempts
to undermine national collective
bargaining and UCUs aim to restore
binding national agreements with our
employers.
For this years pay claim and pay round
the FEC majority has ensured that, for a
change, we are on the front foot by getting
in early instead of waiting until the AoC
tie us up in negotiations until the summer
when it is too late to ballot and take action.
We should take advantage of this
situation, not throw it away as the
IBL are now advocating, despite them
having previously voted for this strategy.
We urge you to vote Yes in the
ballot for the pay campaign and for a
strategy that can deliver.

List of candidates supported by UCU Left for the upcoming NEC elections
President Scotland
Carlo Morelli

North West FE
Nina Doran

President Wales
(FE): Chris Jones

Midlands HE
Xanthe Whittaker

North West HE
Jo McNeill,
Chris Sheehy

Midlands FE
Rhiannon Lockley,
Allister MacTaggart

The South HE
Trish McManus,
Bruce Heil

Michalopoulous

The South FE
Mick Dawson

UK-elected FE
Mandy Brown,
Steve Boyce,
Dave Muritu

UK-elected HE
Marion Hersh,
Carlo Morelli, Eleni

Disabled
members HE
Christina Paine

Black members
Dawn Livingston,
Dave Muritu
LGBT members HE
Pura Ariza
LGBT members FE
Steve Boyce

For a lay leadership that will:

Fight to defend post-16 education
Defend members pensions, pay and conditions
Respect democratic mandates
Seek to build a campaigning, member-led union